FOREIGN investors reverted to net selling with outflows amounting to -RM325.5 mil during the May 11-15 trading period after a one-week inflow of RM209.8 mil.
They were net sellers on four out of five trading days during the week, according to MBSB Research (formerly MIDF Research).
“The largest outflow was recorded on Friday (May 15) (-RM202.9 mil), followed by Tuesday (May12) (-RM64.9 mil), Thursday (May 14) (-RM60.3 mil) and Wednesday (May 13) (-RM19.4 mil),” observed the research house in its weekly fund flow report.
“The only inflow was recorded on Monday (May 11) (RM22.0 mil).”
The top three sectors that recorded net foreign inflows were technology (RM135.5 mil), industrial products & services (RM75.9 mil) and financial services (RM75.6 mil).
Meanwhile the top three sectors with net foreign outflows were utilities (-RM261.4 mil), consumer products & services (-RM132.3 mil) and construction (-RM105.9 mil).
On the contrary, local institutions extended their buying streak to a fifth week with net inflows of RM233.2 mil.
Likewise, retailers reverted to net buying after the previous week’s outflows with net inflows of RM92.4 mil.
The average daily trading volume (ADTV) was mixed across investor classes: retailers increased by +14.2%, local institutions declined -3.7% but that of foreign institutions inched up +3.4%.
In comparison with another four Southeast Asian markets tracked by MBSB Research, foreign investors in Thailand reverted to net buying with inflows of US$283.3 mil despite softer consumer sentiment with the Consumer Confidence Index easing to 50.6 in April 2026 (March 2026: 51.8), the lowest since August 2025.
The Philippines, too, extended its net buying streak to a second week with a marginal US$4.9 mil in net foreign inflows despite weaker FDI (foreign direct investment) trend which fell -31.0% year-on-year (yoy) to US$600 mil in February 2026 mainly due to a sharp decline in debt instruments.
However, Indonesia reverted to net selling after the previous week of inflows with net foreign outflows totalling -US$183.8 mil while Vietnam saw foreign investors extending their net selling streak to a nine straight week with -US$146.7 mil in net foreign outflows.
The top three stocks with the highest net money inflow from foreign investors last week were Press Metal Aluminium Holdings Bhd (RM80.6 mil), Malaysian Pacific Industries Bhd (RM61.9 mil) and RHB Bank Bhd (RM42.5 mil). – May 18, 2026
